The Malice of Morgana
by mer1in
Summary: Even Gwaine's happy chatter about rescuing a damsel couldn't keep Merlin's attention. One thought kept clouding his mind, muting everyone around him. One thought that simultaneously filled him with happiness but also uneasiness as they walked through the gates of Camelot, 'She has magic.'
1. Chapter 1

**AN: There will be lots of H/C in the future and a couple of OC characters. Let's just pretend Freya didn't exist. Sorry, guys. Also, this is my first ff, so please go easy on me. :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin. **

* * *

Nightmares clouded Merlin's dreams that night. He was running through dark, misty woods, looking for a place to hide. Eyes that belonged to countless foes followed behind him. Over and over again, he attempted to push them away with magic, but it rendered useless. He had finally resorted to climbing a tree when a high-pitched scream erupted through the forest. He turned his head quickly towards the noise, only to have his vision dim to black and the sound of the frightened girl's scream fade into the loud whistling of Gaius' tea kettle.

Merlin groaned as the whistling ceased and Gaius hobbled up the stairs into his room. "It's almost dawn," Gaius said, "I've made you some breakfast."

Merlin nodded and stretched as Gaius left, closing the door behind him. He dressed quickly, grabbing only necessities for his small endeavor. Gaius was running extremely low on essential herbs and volunteered Merlin to fetch some from the forest for him. Lucky for him, Gaius had also got him up early enough to be back in the castle before Arthur noticed his absence.

Merlin gobbled down the soup and some bread before grabbing his bag and making his way out of the castle.

* * *

_Morgana has failed_. This thought clouded Paul's mind until his heart beat fast and his hands shook with anticipation. _But what now?_ Paul paced back and forth in the dark until sweat formed in beads on his forehead.

"Father?" Scarlet asked, ripping him from his obsessive thoughts. He looked around, forgetting for a moment where he was. The forest. He was in the forest with his daughter and they were running from Morgana and her men.

Only two days ago he had stopped Morgana from killing Camelot's prince by disposing of her strongest assassin. This man was one of the most powerful and terrifying sorcerer's Paul had ever met. The assassin had been taken by surprise, not expecting to be murdered under Morgana's watch, and was therefore an easy kill. By now, the assassin will have been found dead and Morgana's men on their trail. That was two days ago.

"Sorry, Sweetheart. Just thinking." Paul attempted a smile and sat next to his daughter on the cool ground, concern etched clearly onto her pale face. The last thing he wanted to do was worry her.

This past year had been hard on the two of them. Everything they had ever known was now only a memory, all they had left in the world was each other. He mumbled a few words at the flames dancing on logs in front of them and the fire quickly dimmed.

Scarlet sat quietly for a moment and turned to him, "We can't stay here, it will be morning soon."

Her long, dark hair fell in her face, as it always did. She hugged her knees closer to her chest. Paul hated that she was part of this. It's not that she wasn't handling everything better than expected, she was. It also wasn't because she was a burden; on the contrary, Scarlet handled a bow better than most men who had trained most of their lives. She was also an equally gifted sorceress. He just hated putting her in a situation like this. But, with nowhere else for her to go, he had no choice but to bring her along.

"You're right, we should keep moving." He stood and helped her up, then put out the fire and grabbed his pack. Scarlet picked up her bow and bag and trailed behind him without another word.

They hadn't been traveling long before they heard it. Silence. Paul stopped suddenly, Scarlet clumsily running into him with a gasp. He put a finger to her lips and she instantly froze, both of them slowly taking in every bit of their surroundings. There was another sound, a whooshing noise, then pain. It was an arrow. Paul had taken it directly above his heart. He slowly sunk to the ground, Scarlet's cry filling his ears. The world was spinning around him.

"Go!" He yelled at her as he heard quick footsteps heading towards them, "SCAR, GO!"

She took one last look at him, tears welling up in her eyes. They had prepared for moments like this and he knew she wouldn't fail him, but words are always easier than actuality.

"Please." He gave her a meaningful look and she turned away from him and ran swiftly into the forest beyond.

He gasped for breath; he could feel the life slowly slipping from him. That's when Morgana came into view. She smiled wickedly at sight of him and knelt down.

"This is what happens to traitors, Paul. You knew this," she chuckled and rubbed a hand through his hair. "What a pity."

"You've failed, Morgana." He smiled weakly and groaned as the pain grew.

Morgana sneered and grabbed the arrow puncturing his chest, he yelped. "I may have failed this time, but Arthur Pendragon will fall, I can assure you. This cowardly act will not have repercussions, Paul. You will pay."

Paul managed a laugh that sound more like choking, "Do what you want with me Morgana, my time in this world is almost over."

Morgana backed away from him and smiled once more, "You poor fool, I didn't mean with _your_ life." Morgana motioned to a man with a crossbow and another with a sword, they instantly took off in the direction his daughter had.

He was breathing faster now. _No, not Scarlet. Not Scarlet._ Morgana saw the fear on his face and looked pleased.

"Sweet dreams, Paul. You have chosen the wrong time to cross me, her death will be slow." She twisted her hand in the air and Paul felt his neck whipping around as his world swirled into blackness.

* * *

Scarlet was running on adrenaline alone, oblivious to the thorns and branches whipping across her skin. Morgana's men were chasing behind her, throwing curses and threats as they went. Someone behind, most likely the same man who had taken down her father, sent arrows whizzing past her head. She could see a small clearing through the trees; she had to be close to Camelot. Morgana's men would never get too close to the kingdom; it would risk them running into a patrol. Besides, this situation was clearly in her favor to the public eye. These men looked nothing other than bandits chasing a helpless girl. This thought gave Scarlet a bit more motivation as she picked up speed, not far from the clearing. That's when another arrow went flying through the air, piercing her right shoulder.

She screamed, staggering for a second. She put her hand to her shoulder, ignoring the blood that flowed warmly down it, and carried on. There was no giving up now, the clearing was so close.

* * *

The sky gave hints of morning as Merlin's eyes searched the ground. His drowsiness had allowed his herb-collecting skills to appear nonexistent. He scratched his head and sighed. He had almost given up hope when he saw it: a patch of Rosemary. Growing on the very edge of the clearing. He smiled and trotted happily over to it but was stopped coldly in his tracks. A high-pitched scream erupted from the forest, the same scream that had haunted his nightmare. It was coming from the forest and sounded very close. He stepped sideways, looking into its dark depths, when someone crashed into him.

He fell on his back and opened his eyes to see a girl on him, her hands on his chest with a shocked expression covering her face and- he gulped- an arrow in her back. She put a finger to his lips as she struggled upwards and stumbled backwards, away from the forest.

Merlin scrambled to his feet and followed her lead, she was obviously expecting someone.

On cue, a group of men, most likely bandits, came yelling from the forest. On instinct, Merlin's eyes flashed gold as he snapped a large branch above them. It came crashing down on top of most of the men. He saw the girl flash him a confused look that made his heart beat faster. No one had ever noticed it was him before, why her?

Other men were running through the clearing but, before Merlin could think of what to do, the girl's hands were out in front of her. She said a few words and a man was sent flying backwards into a tree, his body falling limply to the ground.

Before the rest of the bandits could attack, Merlin heard a yell and the clanging of a sword. Three men wearing the crest of Camelot rushed out of the forest, after a brief fight with the remaining three men, the bandits lay dead in front of them.

"You okay there, Merlin?" It was Gwaine. Merlin nodded and turned to the girl next to him.

She was very pale. You could tell that whatever had kept her going since being shot with the arrow had subsided as she grew unsteady and toppled over, unconscious.

Merlin instantly rushed to her side and caught her before she hit the ground. The other knights, Leon and Percival, were right behind him.

"She needs Gaius." Merlin knew she needed help and soon. The life from her was fading due to high blood loss. Every second they wasted brought her closer to death.

Percival nodded and immediately picked her up with both arms. She was already small but looked even tinier in his arms. Merlin mentally noted that she must be around his age, despite how young the freckles dotting her face made her look.

Even Gwaine's happy chatter about rescuing a damsel couldn't keep Merlin's attention. One thought kept clouding his mind, muting everyone around him. One thought that simultaneously filled him with happiness but also uneasiness as they walked through the gates of Camelot. _She has magic._


	2. Chapter 2

**The Healing Process**

* * *

Scarlet slowly drifted into consciousness. She could hear the crackling of a small fire and felt the warmth of a few wool blankets. Hushed voices spoke urgently a few feet away, but she didn't attempt to make out any words. The effects of some medicine left her mind cloudy and the pain from the arrow dulled. The arrow.

On the wound, a fresh layer of bandages were now wrapped tightly around her shoulder and the once throbbing pain was lowered to a dull sting. Her mind drifted for a moment as she repeated the words once more in her head, trying to remember the events that led her here. The arrow.

Memories came flooding back, of running through the woods and of crashing into the dark-haired boy. The way he had sent the branch tumbling onto Morgana's men without uttering a word. Scarlet's thoughts lingered on him for a moment and how he had helped her without question.

Then, as if a weight had been dropped on her chest, she remembered her father. She sucked in air and clenched her fist, not wanting the others in the room to know she had regained consciousness. One arrow had shattered her stability, her only living family member, and now she had nothing. She remembered his panick-stricken face as he fell helplessly on the ground, screaming for her to leave. As much as she wanted to deny it, she knew Morgana would not have taken him alive. The very thought made her neaseous and threatened to break her completely. Scarlet tried to regained herself, remembering her surroundings. The time for grieving was not now.

The last thing she could recall from the forest were knights of Camelot coming to their rescue. Judging by the quality of medicine and bandages, she must be under the care of a physician. Which means the knights didn't witness her or the boy using magic. She let out a sigh of relief and, for the first time since awakening, observed her surroundings carefully.

She seemed to be in a room with tall, stone walls. She took note of the amount of books and medicines scattered throughout the room that backed her physician theory. In order to investigate further, she attempted sitting up and winced. Immediately, an old man rushed to her side.

"You wound on your shoulder is not yet healed. Drink this." He handed her a small vial and she gulped it down without question. Almost instantly, she felt a sense of relaxation spread through her body. She rested her head back on the pillow, but the questions still flooded her mind.

Scarlet searched the man's face suspiciously and decided it was best to get straight to the point, "Who are you? Where am I? Why are you helping me?"

The old man sighed and pulled up a chair next to her bed, "My name is Gaius. I am the King's court physician, which is why you are in the castle," he shifted slightly and continued, "I know of your magic- your secret is safe with me, of course- but I must warn you: magic is forbidden in Camelot by pain of death. During your stay here, you'll need to lay low and not draw attention to yourself. Now, it is my turn. May I ask your name? And why those men were chasing you?"

Scarlet weighed the questions for a moment, but felt a strange trust for the man. He had taken care of her after all and was keeping her magic a secret, he at least deserved an explanation. "My name is Scarlet. Those men who were after me were Morgana's. My father-," she took a deep breath, trying to hold back emotion, "-my father and I were acting as spies under Morgana and killed her assassin, a mighty sorcerer, who was paid to take out the Prince."

Silence entered the room. Scarlet looked away from the old man for a moment and, when she looked back, realized that he was now wearing a look of deep respect and even had a hint of a smile on his face, "That was very brave of you. Feel free to stay here as long as you like. You'll be back on your feet again in two days but, until then, you need rest. There is a family in the lower village with a very sick child. In my absence Merlin will watch over you." At the sound of his name, the black-haired boy stepped forward and let out a small smile. Scarlet felt her cheeks get hot.

"I best be on my way," Gaius rose from his chair and asked the boy- Merlin- to fetch him a few things before shutting the door behind him and leaving the two alone.

* * *

Merlin's heart was racing as the door shut behind Gaius. There were questions he had for her, so many stories he was sure she could tell. But those could all wait. Despite the eagerness inside of him, he knew the medication Gaius had given her would make her incredibly drowsy. And, from what he had gathered, she deserved rest. "Are you thirsty?"

Scarlet nodded rose again to a sitting position as he rushed to fill a goblet; he handed it to her and shuffled backwards, trying not to stare as she drank. When she was done, he turned back.

Before he could get a word out, she spoke, her eyes glued to the blankets in front of her, "Thank you for helping me. I don't know where I'd be if you hadn't."

Merlin nodded, and chose his next words carefully, "You knew I had magic right away, how?"

Scarlet looked at him for a moment, as if trying to figure out what he meant. "It was quite obvious, to me anyway." She chuckled quietly and said, "That would have been one hell of a coincidence."

Merlin's shook his head and laughed, so he wasn't half as sneaky as he had previously thought. No wonder Gaius was always warning him to be careful, "You know, I have done that hundreds of times in the past and no one has ever noticed."

Scarlet cocked her head to the side as his smile faded to a look of curiousity, "If you don't mind my asking, why did you and your father go through so much to save Arthur?"

The girl yawned and laid back on the bed again, "We have always believed Arthur is different from his father, that his future will bring peace throughout the land. The only way to ensure that future is to keep him alive. No matter the cost." She closed her eyes for a moment and Merlin saw a single tear fall down her cheek.

Her father. He wondered what misfortune could have fallen to him at the hands of Morgana. Merlin lowered his head as she covered her face with her hands and started sobbing quietly. Having been in a situation such as this, Merlin knew it was best to give her time alone to grieve.

He blew out the candles, refilled her goblet with water and put it next to her, then trailed up the stairs into his room. When Merlin got slowly into bed and rested his eyes, he thought only of the girl downstairs and how he wanted nothing more than to hold her close and hear the story of what made her so sad.

* * *

**Note 1: This chapter was mainly focused on introducing the characters to one another and starting up Merlin's feelings for Scarlet! Yeah! Expect more familiar characters in the next chapter. This will be picking up pace very soon. :)**

**Note 2: I do not own anything Merlin, obviously.**


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